Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 50 - 48 Getting Angry

Chapter 50: Chapter 48: Getting Angry

Chapter 50 -48: Getting Angry

After a hasty dinner, having sent off the married eldest daughter and her family, the key figures of the Li Family finally settled back on the old couple’s bed-stove.

Li Hongjun sat on the stool with a dark expression, waiting for someone to explain what exactly was going on.

Li Wangcai sat cross-legged on the bed-stove, holding a tobacco pipe with a serious look on his face. He really didn’t know about this matter.

Next to him, Qiu Shuping looked at her eldest daughter-in-law, hoping she would speak up. But Shuping certainly wasn’t foolish; those grains weren’t consumed by her alone, the idea wasn’t hers, nor did she carry the grains back home. Why would she offend her second uncle in such a case? So she pretended not to notice her mother-in-law’s eager eyes, touched her slightly protruding belly, bowed her head, and acted as if nothing was amiss.

And the specific executor, big brother Li Hongxing of the Li Family, hung his head low on the side, not daring to meet his brother’s eyes.

“Let’s talk about it, what exactly happened?” Li Wangcai knocked on the edge of the bed-stove and said in an even tone.

But everyone in the family knew this was a sign that Li Wangcai was about to lose his temper; the calmer he spoke, the angrier he was.

Qiu Shuping looked at her cunning eldest daughter-in-law, then at her useless eldest son, lowered her head and pursed her lips, realizing she couldn’t count on either when it truly mattered.

“Nothing much really. You know, in the autumn when you weren’t feeling well, I was thinking you like eating rice a lot, and our village doesn’t distribute much of it. So I had Hongxing go to the Shen Family in Gaijiatun to check it out. Who would’ve thought, Shen Yunfang really was filled with filial piety; the moment she heard you wanted to eat it, she let Hongxing take back a sack, saying she wouldn’t be coming home for the New Year, and that the rice could serve as filial respect for us.” Of course, Qiu Shuping couldn’t tell the whole truth, so she chose to put a positive spin on it.

“You’ve been using me as an excuse again?” Li Wangcai knew his wife all too well after so many years.

Normally, his wife was quite sensible, telling people what they wanted to hear, able to get along with everyone, with her only flaw being a bit petty and fond of taking advantage.

Normally, considering others’ feelings and saving face was fine, but he hadn’t expected that this time she’d actually set her sights on their future daughter-in-law. Wasn’t this the same as throwing the face of his old Liu family all the way to Gaijiatun?

“Look at what you’re saying, what do you mean using you as an excuse? During the harvest, you were too tired to eat, right? If we just boil some rice porridge, you can eat a bit more. I was just worried about you,” Qiu Shuping said somewhat sheepishly.

Li Wangcai was not so easily fooled, “The rice our family gets isn’t enough?”

Taoshu Village mainly grew wheat, but also some rice. Come harvest time, each person could distribute thirty to forty pounds. The Li Family, with many members, could collectively distribute around one to two hundred pounds of rice.

“Heh, you also know the eldest’s family has many children, all at the age when they can eat a lot. Besides, we can’t just eat rice ourselves and leave the other kids to watch, right?” Her implication was clear: there wasn’t enough to go around.

Indeed, if a family of over ten people ate rice daily, one to two hundred pounds really wasn’t enough for much.

Li Wangcai didn’t pick up on her words; instead, he turned to his eldest son, “You went to Gaijiatun?”

Li Hongxing buried his head even lower. He was the type who couldn’t be forced to say anything if you poked him three times. At the time, he really didn’t want to go, but when his mother gave the order, he didn’t dare disobey.

Li Wangcai didn’t care if he responded: “How much rice did you carry back?”

“One hundred pounds,” Li Hongxing said softly.

Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.

“Oh my, my parents, my stomach is hurting a bit, I’ll go back to my room and lie down,” the eldest daughter-in-law Shuping saw trouble brewing and quickly clutched her stomach, feigning pain.

“Oh, quick, go back then,” Qiu Shuping was eager to divert the conversation and urged her eldest daughter-in-law to return to her room.

Li Wangcai didn’t say anything; he just lowered his head and added some tobacco to his pipe.

“Hongxing, help me back, will you?” Shuping came down the bed-stove to put on her shoes and, seeing Li Hongxing still foolishly sitting there, promptly pulled on him.

Li Hongxing finally looked up, first at his father, then at his mother, before quietly getting off the kang to help his wife back to their room.

Now, only the elderly couple of the Li Family and the silent Li Hongjun were left in the room.

After a while, Li Wangcai spoke again, “Have all the rice been eaten?”

“Eaten. It’s all been eaten.” Qiu Shuping simply decided to face the consequences head-on, as there was no turning back now that the rice had been brought home. She claimed it was gone, and no one could do much about it; what were they going to do to her?

Li Wangcai suddenly swung his pipe, fortunately unlit, striking Qiu Shuping’s arm.

Qiu Shuping let out a cry of pain.

Li Hongjun looked down and remained silent.

“You old bastard, you hit me because of an outsider. I’ve borne sons and raised your children for the Li Family without complaints all these years. I’m already this old, and you still beat me. I might as well die, wuwu…” Sitting on the kang, Qiu Shuping began sobbing miserably.

Now, Li Wangcai truly looked angry, his face red and neck thickening, “You home-wrecking woman, I should hit you, what’s wrong with that? What have you done? Is that an outsider? That’s your future daughter-in-law. She hasn’t even married into our family yet, and you have already gone and wronged her. What will the Shen Family think? How do you expect me to face my comrades in the future?”

“Always your comrades, always your comrades! Are you living with us or your comrades? Whenever it comes to your comrades, everything in our family must give way. It didn’t matter how much I begged, you insisted on giving our second son to them as a son-in-law. My fine son, oh, all gone to waste, now I can’t even find a grave to cry on,” Qiu Shuping cried heart-wrenchingly as if Li Hongjun sitting in the room had already become a martyr.

“Shut your mouth. Do you not remember how Shen San saved my life? Besides, Hongjun has already agreed, so why bring this up now? What I want to know is how we should resolve this situation,” Li Wangcai said, understanding his wife all too well. He knew if he allowed her to continue, they’d end up rehashing things from eight hundred years ago, and there would be no telling when they’d get back to the main issue, so he cut straight to the chase.

At this, Qiu Shuping fell silent. What could she do? The grain had already been carried back, and the rice had been eaten. She couldn’t very well make them regurgitate it.

“What else can be done? The rice has been eaten; are they supposed to vomit it back up?” Qiu Shuping was obviously playing dumb now.

“It’s all been eaten, but our family also shared over two hundred jin of rice,” Li Wangcai didn’t believe it, but over the years, his wife had controlled their finances, and if she insisted there was nothing left, he really had no way to challenge her.

“Nothing’s left, not a single grain. Besides, hasn’t our second son been sending five yuan each month to that girl? With all that money, couldn’t you buy a lot of rice? It seems to me we’re at a loss here,” Qiu Shuping had her own rationale.

“Bullshit, is that how you calculate it? That money is…”

Li Hongjun suddenly stood up from the stool, cutting Li Wangcai off mid-sentence.

“Starting next month, I’ll send the ten yuan I receive at home to Yunfang. If I mail it for three months, thirty yuan should make up for the hundred jin of grain Big Brother has carried back,” he said. Without waiting for his parents’ response, he pushed open the door and left.

“You dare, Li Hongjun you little bastard, get back here for your mother,” Qiu Shuping’s voice rose high in the room.

Li Hongjun ignored her and returned to his room.

In fact, he had long noticed that in this house, it was his mother who called the shots, his father seemed tough but was actually hollow inside. His father’s display of temper today was for show; had he remained silent, his parents would have argued back and forth, and the issue would have ultimately been swept under the rug. The most his father would have done is warn his mother not to do it again.

But he felt this matter couldn’t just be left like that. Although he had been young and initially disagreed when he and Shen Yunfang got engaged, after he became a soldier, he realized that regardless of the situation, since they were engaged, Shen Yunfang was his responsibility. When Yunfang’s mother passed away last year, he had visited her. The girl was thin, small, and timid. Although he didn’t like her much, a responsibility was a responsibility. Once two people were engaged, it was his duty to protect her from harm.

Other people didn’t know, and now it was his own family bullying his fiancée, which he could not tolerate. But since it involved his parents, he couldn’t yell or hit them; he could only make them understand in his own way—one that would also make his mother feel the pinch—the way he intended to compensate Shen Yunfang.

What did his mother care about the most? Money.